Four Fab Months

As of tomorrow, Jaggar will be four months old. And so it's been four months since our lives turned upside down and we started living every moment trying to figure out and cater to one very small, adorable and amusing little dictator. :P But seriously, Jaggar continues to be the most fun baby and my awesome little buddy. We are having such a great time together.

In the past many weeks, Jaggar has started laughing, spitting/blowing raspberries, cooing, gooing, squealing and even making noises that make me think he's trying to "sing". It's hilarious and thoroughly entertaining. He's incredibly loud but this, like his cry, is a product of having me for a mother. What can I say? I come from a loud, vocal family! But at least most of Jaggar's noises are the joyful variety. And this is good because literally from the moment he wakes up in the morning (laying next to me, of course) he's cooing, gooing, chatting and raspberry-ing. He's completely silly and adorable.

The sleep situation continues to be a two steps forward, one step back proposition. No, we still haven't figured out what will make him sleep a good, long time other than just waiting for him to get bigger. Having said that, he's started sleeping longer - his first stretch of the night goes for about five hours. He still often wakes during that time, though, and we have to rock him back to sleep or feed him a little bit more if he fell asleep in the middle of the bottle we gave him to get him into bed in the first place. Yes, it's a bit of a chore, this bedtime with baby thing. But slowly, he does seem to be going a little longer. It's not that 8, 10 or 12 hour stretch that everyone else with a baby seems to get but at this point, I'll definitely take what I can get. I'm not picky; I'm just grateful.

These days Jaggar is extremely aware and notices lots of things he was never really interested in before. This is great, of course, since I can see his little brain working and recognizing things and being curious. This is bad, of course, because it's really challenging to get him to focus on things like breastfeeding when his toys or the t.v. or even the sound of Papa's voice are SO interesting. He's feeding a lot more efficiently these days, which is nice, so feedings don't take nearly as long (and are spacing out to almost 4 hours apart now) but sometimes it's like herding cats to get him to focus - and re-focus and re-focus and re-focus - on feeding. I'm definitely glad he's not one of those sleepy, boring babies, as I've said before, but his awareness does present its challenges. I suspect, though, that this is only the beginning of the challenges his keen awareness will bring. :)

After bragging (well, at least to myself) that Jaggar is the smartest, brightest, most aware little guy, I realized the other day, reading one of those baby website emails that I get, that he has missed a milestone. Apparently he's supposed to be able to roll over from his stomach to his back by now. Hmmm... Well, he hates being on his stomach. "Tummy Time" each day is definitely a forced proposition. Much as I feel awful that maybe he's not developing ideally or on schedule, the little guy is probably going to have to come along at his own pace on this one. I have shown him many times how to roll over from his tummy to his back but I know he's not going to do it until he's darn good and ready. And maybe, just maybe, I need to stop being one of those paranoid mothers who wigs out over milestones. Maybe I just need to go with the flow...

Really, that's what I do most days. Jaggar and I are in a pretty good groove right now. I'm able to shower during the mornings now, bathe him by myself and generally do all of the things I need to do with him mostly without Johann's help. Johann is, of course, always super helpful but it's a nice feeling of accomplishment to take over the whole job myself during the day and be a success at it. That and it's nice to not have to wait until he's here to get a shower in. I'd grown pretty tired of being stinky!

Baby boy is due for his four month appointment at the doctor's on February 28th. I suspect he's going to tip the scales at significantly over 14 lbs since he's outgrowing his clothing at a rapid pace and getting as plump as a Christmas turkey. The kid has definitely not missed any meals and while he started out as a "skinny-mini" he's starting to get that chubby baby fat I've been aiming for all along. Chubby Mission: Accomplished. :)

As for Johann and I, we managed to get out for a date back in January - we went to the movies and then to one of our favorite Tapas places - so it was nice to feel like we still sort of have a life and a relationship outside baby. We're due for another date sometime this week which I'm, of course, happily looking forward to. Jaggar's starting into the "stranger danger" phase I think so I'm not sure how long we'll get away with leaving him with someone and having him be okay but we'll push our luck until it changes. Much as I adore the little guy and much as my brain and body feel "odd" without him with me, I really do crave those few hours away even if sometimes I spend them at the grocery store!

Well, that's all the good stuff that's going on right now. We're looking forward to a visit from my father and brother here soon so Jaggar will finally get to meet his Granddad and Uncle. Can't wait! Otherwise, the little guy's getting bigger, getting even more cute, is checking out the world around him and hopefully is learning to sleep longer through the night. And, on his own timetable, he will roll over. I just know he will. :)

J.